Am I Wishing for Failure?

 

by Bob Randall

(Editor's note:  Good friend Ranger Bob is back with another post, this time regarding his views on the state of democracy in the United States, along with a running assessment of Donald Trump and his presidency.   My old college roommate, as usual, offers up plenty to ponder.  ~ Pa Rock)

Bill Maher, on Real Time recently monologued about American hypocrisy  (Google, New Rule:  Don't be a Hypocrite).   A few quotes should give you the idea:

• "If you find yourself suddenly hating something you loved five minutes ago or vice-versa, ask your doctor if Ivermectin is right for you."
• "This car (Tesla) used to be FIRE.  Now it's on fire.  Back when Elon Musk was presumed to be liberal, liberals loved electric cars and conservatives hated them.   Then Elon went MAGA . . .  MAGA Nation used to hate EVs . . . "
• "Republicans used to hate Russia . . . Now it's every Republican's dream country."
• "It would be easy to make fun of MTG . . . Jewish Space Lasers . . . Respond by June 31 . . . Catholic Bishops are controlled by Satan . . . "  (but when Sinead O'Connor said the same on SNL referring to pedophilia in the Catholic Church, we all thought it was wonderful.)
• " . . . challenge to not automatically rush to the opposite viewpoint based solely on who said it . . ."

You get the idea, especially if you think he's talking about someone else.   I will look in the mirror.  I think our nation is in the formative phase of the American version of fascism (don't substitute Nazism here).  It is led by Donald Trump.  Not because he is a fascist (he is), but because he likes the power, adoration, and money he can leverage from limitless power.   He admires dictators because he's a wannabe.

It scares me to think that our form of democracy or republicanism (lower case emphasized) is on the cusp of losing the checks and balances that make it work.   When I was in college, I took a political science class.   I hated it, and the only thing i remember was they talked about power politics and how the executive branch was winning.  I never, ever thought I would look back at that class and say, "I learned something useful."  Trump has an iron grip on the Executive, a lesser but firm grip on the Legislative, and a contemptuous and contemptible approach to the Judiciary.  The courts will work for him or else.

I read this morning that Trump "endorsed the idea that the United States Supreme Court had placed an 'illegal injunction' on him by temporarily blocking his administration's ability to deport Venezuelans accused of being gang members, without due process, while litigation plays out in the lower courts."  (Search The Independent via MSN for source.)   If Trump succeeds in intimidating the four Supremes who could either support or defy him, or simply ignore what they adjudicate, we will be experiencing the complete transformation to fascist Trumpism.

I have been watching a series on the Mongolian Empire on Netflix.  One of the jaw-dropping moments occurred when I noticed that Genghis Khan valued loyalty so highly from his subjects.   Do you feel like a subject, yet?

Finally, I have some guilt that I feel for the US and us.   I don't want a bad economy, but if a good economy gets Trump re-elected (a third term?), or enriches his MAGA base, or gets his minions elected, I have to contemplate the value of a declining economy.   Temporary, I hope.  If Trump is able to negotiate a peace in Ukraine or Gaza, or end the arms' buildup in Iran, that would elevate his standing.    I note here that those participants are at a point where they sure could use a way to back off yet save face.   Trump will claim the credit.   Do I wish failure in the peace efforts?  I'm torn.

I support elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse, but this isn't right.   I support freedom of speech, but that which doesn't include physical intimidation of others.   And along with that sentence, funding for scientific work at universities should not be politicized.   I like having a border, but not militarizing it.  We should spend that money on immigration judges.   Habeas corpus, due process - good.  Deportation to foreign prisons - bad.   Changing voting rules for political purposes - bad.

I could be wrong.   Maybe a solid Democratic win in Congress would be the victory I want.  Maybe not.  The Judiciary has to stand strong.  Trump may just ignore them.  I think the best way to stop American Fascism is through the impeachment/removal process in Congress, then try him in court, and afterwards throw him in prison.   While convicting him will be difficult since the Supremes muddied the "presidential duties"aspect of guilt, the ruling of immunity is absolute only for "core Constitutional powers."   "As for his remaining official actions he is entitled to at least a presumptive immunity."   As an example, selling access to the White House using a crypto currency is not core.   The only way to impeach him is for MAGA to lose their majorities in Congress by a wide margin.  The only way to do that is to feel some pain.  

Now, I really don't think much of Democrats either.   Some of them carry their advocacy to extremes and make no more sense than MTG's Jewish Space Lasers.   The last election was the Dems' to lose.  Their loss has many explanations.  The next election will again be the Dems' to lose.   The extremes of both ends have no balance.   How could they?  They're at the end of the spectrum.   That spectrum is the political horseshoe and the two ends approach the same place.